Carbohydrates are basically sugars. Examples include; flour, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, baked goods, and sugary drinks (juices, coffee, tea, pop, alcohol). Those are the most common culprits. Some vegetables, like corn and carrots, also contain a lot of carbohydrates and shouldn't be an every day meal.

Not all carbohydrates are bad, but most are bad. I don't believe that people should eat simple carbohydrates at all. Examples of simple carbohydrates include any bread, cake, cookie, cracker, juice, sugar, honey, pasta, rice, donuts, danishes, most candies and candy bars, and many others. You get the idea. Even "whole wheat" bread or "whole grain" pasta is considered a simple carbohydrate and will raise your blood sugar. The key is to not cause a surge in blood sugar and secrete more insulin. That will store fat.

Unless they come from fruits and vegetables, they are simple carbohydrates. It’s that simple!

Simple and processed carbohydrates are one of the worst inventions our society has ever seen as we have become more and more industrialized. A lot of other diet plans have recognized this in the past, and the C# Diet continues in this great tradition.

A lot of drinks contain carbohydrates. Soft drinks (pop), coffee with cream and sugar, alcoholic beverages, and juices. Just don’t have any of these. These are the sources of most empty calories and worthless carbohydrates. Just eliminate these from your diet. If you can’t do it suddenly, start with switching to diet pop first, then eliminate this as well.

Unfortunately, most people think juices are healthy. Apple juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, gatorade, as well as others... they are all full of sugar, are extremely processed, and will cause a surge in blood sugar levels. If you want to lose weight, avoid juices.

Pop and diet pop contain a lot of sodium and other “stuff”. Too much salt in our diet leads to water retention and weight gain, even though our kidneys are pretty good at eliminating and retaining salt as necessary. Try cutting these out of your diet completely. You will notice a huge difference. Chronic dehydration has been a major problem in the modern world, pop, coffee, and soft drinks is a major reason why.

Of course, this doesn't mean don't eat these ever. The C# Diet wants you to be reasonable. You can eat small portions of these in Phase II of the diet, but cut back when you notice weight gain. If eating lasagna once a week on Sundays is causing you to slowly put on weight, drop it to every other week, or eat half the portion. Be reasonable. You are the best judge, you know your body the most.

If you really like simple carbohydrates, another strategy is to spread out your consumption of these carbohydrates eating small amounts throughout the day as opposed to a large bolus. Read our glycemic index, metabolism, digestion, and nutrition sections for more information.

Fructose:

Fructose is the most common sweetener found in foods these days, because it's so cheap. It is also the most common sweetener in sugary drinks. Fructose, has a highly unfavorable metabolic profile. In laboratory studies and human research studies, it has been found to be associated with and cause inflammation, fat deposition, weight gain, strokes, heart disease, increase in bad cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, and other metabolic derangements. Fructose has been found to be more likely to stimulate fat deposition especially in your abdomen (visceral fat), compared to glucose or other forms of sugar, which is the worse kind of fat to have.

Further, studies have shown that fructose is also less likely to cause satiety compared to glucose. It doesn't release the same hormones and will give you hunger pangs. Fructose is found in everything! Pop, ketchup, bbq sauce, tomato sauce, fruit drinks, coffee drinks, and almost all sweetened liquid and solid consumables.

If you are on the C# Diet, the best drink is still water. Drink two tall glasses of water before each meal, to stretch your stomach out, and begin the satiety process so that you feel full faster.